Great vid and also great info. Thanks.
As for Namath....i really dont know what to think of the guy, meaning wether he was used as a frontman for the joint, or he simply had many mob friends who in turn respected him? My opinion is that, if I sat with Giancana and Accardo on daily basis, that doesnt make me a mobster but in the eyes of LE and the ordinary citizens its different. The statement which was made by that mobster regarding he being two hours with the president, is somehow quite suspiciois, meaning one thing is to be some famous athlete while another is to be the president of the whole country and to be seen with mobsters on daily basis. Sitting two hours with the president throws a huge suspicion regarding some massive corruption, while the athlete is either there to fix some games or as I already said, to act as a frontman. But in Narmath's case...he mightve had the same role as Sinatra, meaning it is possible that his "real job" was to bring rich and famous people and also many women to the joint, and I also dont think that guys like Tramunti or Persico ever paid their checks in the joint.....just my two cents
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I'm dating myself a bit here, lol, but I remember those days back in NYC when this was all going on. And my opinion of the situation is as follows,
At the time, Joe Namath was THE man of the hour! He had just brought the NY Jets to the championship as their star quarterback and his stock was on the rise. Everybody in NY loved him! After all, he was our "Broadway Joe."
He was young, good lookin', and had a lot of cash. He loved the nightlife. So much so, that he invested his name and money into the Bachelors III in midtown Manhattan. (If memory serves me correctly, he also soon opened up another Bachelors III down in Fort Lauderdale, FL.)
EVERYBODY, who was ANYBODY, quickly flocked to his place. At the time, it WAS the "in-place" to be! That includes big business people, movie stars, New York's politicians, and all New York's wise guys too!
Why not? After all, they too, loved the nightlife. So it was a match made in heaven.
He knew who they were. ALL of them! But he really enjoyed their company. Being around all the mafiosi and hoodlums. For a young "hay seed" kid from the country, he reveled in it.
But was he "partners" with mob guys, per se? NO! Did he "front" for them on the license? NO! Was he a so-called "mob associate?" NO! Did he break the law? NO!
Now.....did some of those fellas, maybe, just maybe, hope that Namath would spill some "inside info" about upcoming games? Who might have gotten injured? How was fighting with his girl? How was out partying night after night with drugs and liquor? So that they could bet and win with inside info?...Probably!
But that still doesn't mean he ever capitulated to the mob, or was complicit in any illegal gambling schemes, etc.
For me? IMO? Joe Namath just loved to party and paid a heavy price for his nightclubbing. With broads, wise guys, etc.
